In response to the increasing popularity of toll roads, coin receiving and validation apparatus have been provided to permit increased speed, accuracy and uniformity of operation, both in sensing defective or foreign coins and in sensing the correct value of each coin deposited into the apparatus. To permit increased speed, accuracy and uniformity of coin validation, automatic coin apparatus have been provided with rotating members for angularly advancing coins at a predetermined and uniform speed within the coin acceptor and escrow assembly, regardless of coin diameter. In addition, to further increase speed, automatic coin apparatuses have been provided with single-stage coin validation in which the same pulse set is used with a single coil assembly for both detection and classification of a coin, as compared to two-stage validation wherein a coin must first roll past a first detection coil and then, if the coin is accepted, it is allowed to roll past a second coil that activates classification pulses. An example of an automatic coin apparatus that includes such features is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,099 to Brown et al., which is assigned to the assignee of the present application.
The automatic coin apparatuses presently in use, however, have a number of disadvantages. For example, when using a disc-shaped rotating member, or pick-up wheel, to angularly advance coins within the coin acceptor, more than one coin may be picked up by scalloped portions in the pick-up wheel, which can cause incorrect coil readings during coin validation. In an attempt to remedy those problems, pick-up wheels were provided with chamfered scalloped portions of different sizes to accommodate coins of different diameters and thicknesses.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a pick-up wheel 100 known pick-up wheel is illustrated in which a plurality of round scalloped portions 102 and 104 are included for receiving coins therein. A plurality of large scalloped portions 102 are provided for receiving large and small coins, and a plurality of smaller scalloped portions 104 are provided to receive small coins. The smaller scalloped portions 104 are provided to account for inefficiencies inherent in advancing coins with smaller dimensions, such as a greater likelihood of the coin superimposing on top of another coin in a scalloped portion or becoming jammed between the pick-up wheel and a planar base of the coin acceptor. But, while the inefficiencies associated with small coins are reduced by having different sized scalloped portions 102 and 104, the inefficiencies associated with large coins are increased.
Each scalloped portion 102 and 104 includes a first chamfered portion 106 and 108 extending along a leading edge and an inside edge of the circumference of each scalloped portion 102 and 104 and a second chamfered portion 110 and 112 extending along a trailing edge of the circumference of each scalloped portion 102 and 104. The first chamfered portion 106 and 108 is adapted to allow coins to slide into the scalloped portions 102 and 104 as the pick-up wheel 100 rotates in the direction or arrow “A”, and the second chamfered portion 110 and 112 is adapted to allow excess coins to slide out of the scalloped portions 102 and 104 as the pick-up wheel 100 rotates in the direction or arrow “A”. Each of the chamfered portions 106, 108, 110, and 112 extends at an angle from a top surface of the pick-up wheel 100 to an internal edge 114 and 116 of each scalloped portion 102 and 104 that extends perpendicular from a bottom surface of the pick-up wheel 100. The internal edge 114 and 116 is provided to engage a coin in each scalloped portion 102 and 104 and advance the coin as the pick-up 100 wheel rotates while allowing excess coins, such as a coin superimposed on the coin in the scalloped portion 102 or 104, to slide away from the respective scalloped portion 102 or 104 as the pick-up wheel 100 rotates. The internal edge 114 and 116 of both the large scalloped portions 102 and the small scalloped portions 104, however, is between 0.8 mm and 1.0 mm in thickness, which is not sufficient to consistently engage larger coins, such as nickels (thickness=1.95 mm) and quarters (thickness=1.75 mm), with a thickness close to double that of the internal edge.
A notched portion 118 and 120 is disposed at the trailing edge of each scalloped portion 102 and 104 to stabilize a coin disposed therein and to maintain the coin in the proper position to be detected and classified. The second chamfered portion 110 and 112 of each scalloped portion 102 and 104 extends substantially around each notched portion 118 and 120. Each notched portion 118 and 120 is defined by a cutout with a radius smaller than that of its respective scalloped portion 102 and 104. The radius of the notched portion 118 and 120 of both the large scalloped portions 102 and the small scalloped portions 104, however, is 10.0 mm, which is not sufficient to stabilize smaller coins, such as pennies (diameter=19.05 mm) and dimes (diameter=17.91 mm), with radii nearly 1.0 mm smaller than that of the notched portions 118 and 120.
A non-chamfered portion 122 and 124 is disposed between the notched portion 118 and 120 and the peripheral edge of the of the pick-up wheel 100 in each scalloped portion to assist in capturing and guiding each coin into each scalloped portion's 102 and 104 respective notched portion 118 or 120 where each coin can be detected and classified. The non-chamfered portion 124 of the small scalloped portion 104 is larger than the non-chamfered portion 122 of the large scalloped portion 102 in order to maintain coins captured in the small scallops 104 at substantially the same distance from the center of the pick-up wheel 100 as coins captured in the large scallops 102, i.e., to guide coins captured in the small scallops 104 along substantially the same radial path as coins captured in the large scallops 102 as the pick-up wheel 100 rotates in the direction or arrow “A”. This configuration ensures that coins in the small scallops 104 as well as in the large scallops 102 are positioned at the proper location for detection and identification as each one passes over the coin validation area (not shown). The configuration also positions the smaller coins further away from the outer perimeter of the pick-up wheel, which is where such smaller coins are most likely to become jammed between the pick-up wheel 100 and the planar base of the coin acceptor.
Coins are more likely to become jammed between the pick-up wheel 100 and the planar base of the coin acceptor at the outer perimeter of the pick-up wheel 100 because there is a larger amount of deflection of the pick-up wheel 100 at points further from the center thereof. Deflection of the pick-up wheel 100 causes variation in the height of the internal edge 114 and 116 of the scallops 102 and 104 at the notched portions 118 and 120, which causes unwanted excess coins to be dragged through the validation area and results in valid coin rejects and coin jams. Moreover, the thickness of the pick-up wheel is only 2.2 mm, which is not enough to sufficiently reduce deflection at the outer perimeter of the pick-up wheel 100 and therefore may allow smaller, thinner coins to become jammed between the pick-up wheel 100 and the planar base of the coin acceptor at the outer perimeter of the pick-up wheel 100. And, when operating the pick-up wheel 100 in wet conditions, greater clearance must be provided between the pick-up wheel 100 and the planar base of the coin acceptor, which further contributes to the likelihood that coins will become jammed therebetween.
In addition, the non-chamfered portion 124 of the small scalloped portion 104, however, is 7.0 mm long, which creates a surface area large enough to catch coins in and around the scalloped portions 102 and 104 thereon and to drag those coins around the perimeter of the pick-up wheel 100 so as to cause reject errors when the extra coins move through the validation area. Accordingly, there is a need for a coin receiving and validation apparatus with improved efficiency.